Boys’ mental health deserves wider forum

I found it encouraging to read the Associated Press article in Wednesday’s Dispatch about NBA player Kevin Love addressing his struggles with anxiety — namely panic attacks on the basketball court. At first, he said he felt burdened by people finding out.

He said, “Growing up, you figure out really quickly how a boy is supposed to act. You learn what it takes to be a man. It’s like a playbook: be strong. Don’t talk about your feelings. Get through it on your own. So for 29 years of my life, I followed that playbook.”

Fortunately, Love sought counseling and now goes a few times a month. Recently, Michael Ian Black wrote a much-shared op-ed in The New York Times that contended there is a brokenness today in boys because there hasn’t been enough focus on how to help boys deal with their wide-ranging emotions and vulnerability.

He wrote, “Too many boys are trapped in the same suffocating, outdated model of masculinity, where manhood is measured in strength, where there is no way to be vulnerable without being emasculated, where manliness is about having power over others.”

Love made himself vulnerable by revealing his struggles with panic attacks. Kudos to him. I hope more people will find the strength and courage to seek mental health counseling when needed.

Kathy Hayden Bexley